Mystic River

Pain. In the depths of Mystic River’s winding story lines is the cold reality that life is full of pain. This latest film from Actor/Director Clint Eastwood tells the story of three neighborhood pals reunited by current tragedy and forced to relive a horrific childhood event that continues to color their lives.

The movie opens with Jimmy, Sean, and Dave playing in the neighborhood streets of South Boston. When their hockey ball is swallowed up by a gutter drain, the boys turn to writing their names in a freshly laid square of sidewalk cement. Dave only has the first two letters of his name scratched in, when a dark car and two men pull up and question them like undercover cops. Dave is taken away and, instead of being returned to his home, is held and abused for four days. He escapes his captors and returns to the neighborhood and his friends, but he and they will never be the same.

Flash forward. Jimmy, Sean, and Dave are grown men. Jimmy (Sean Penn) is an ex-con running a corner grocery store in the old neighborhood and still living a low-level gangster life. Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a successful homicide detective whose pregnant wife left him several months ago. She calls every now and then, but is a mute on the phone. Dave (Tim Robbins) is a shell-of-a-man, battling his demons, and trying to hold it together for himself, his wife, and his little boy. The guys aren’t close anymore, but the bonds of the neighborhood seem to be permanent.

On the same night, Dave comes home with a gash on his abdomen and someone else’s blood on his clothes and Jimmy’s nineteen-year-old daughter goes missing. Sean is called in to investigate the crime with his partner, Whitey (Lawrence Fishburn), and finds Katie’s murdered body in an old animal cage in the park. Jimmy is devastated and vows to find his daughter’s killer and settle the score.

Now it’s a race against time for Sean to find the killer before Jimmy dispenses his own brand of justice. All eyes soon turn to Dave whose story of a fight with a mugger doesn’t seem to hold water. The climax brings together a series of events that are brilliantly orchestrated and heart-wrenching.

Mystic River is Clint Eastwood’s 25th directorial effort. Eastwood is a film icon for his work in front of the camera, but his work behind the camera is equally impressive. He has lived the movies for the better part of five decades and his vast knowledge of the filmmaking process guides him in Mystic River. His vision provides us with a subtle film of immense power and insight into the depths of human suffering.

This is an actor’s film and every actor hits it out of the park; a testament, I’m sure, to Clint’s actor-biased perspective. Sean Penn delivers a powerful performance as the wounded and vengeful father. His pain is palpable. He is a man of well-depth emotion and principal, even if his view of right and wrong is off-center and self-serving. Kevin Bacon is wonderfully understated in his role as the loyalty-conflicted and emotionally-bankrupt detective. His easy nature is perfect for a detective working a case involving his buddies.

Tim Robbins gives perhaps the most noteworthy performance. His zombie-like portrayal of the long-suffering and mentally-unstable Dave shows immense discipline and talent. Robbins is a big man and his stature provides a haunting contrast to the wounded little boy locked inside. It’s also necessary to mention the performances by Laura Linney as Jimmy’s stead-fast wife, Annabeth, and Marcia Gay Harden as Dave’s less-than-supportive wife, Celeste. Both women nail the roles with convincing realism. You want to weep for Celeste and should be afraid of Annabeth.

Wonderful films don’t get made without a fantastic script and Mystic River was blessed with just such a beginning. Screenwriter Brain Helgeland did an exceptional job adapting the 2001 novel by Dennis Lehane. The script hits on all cylinders - plots, subplots, suspense, humor, dialogue, action, and it is an achievement in character development.

We know and care deeply about these people, whether we agree with their decisions or not. If there is any gripe about the script, it’s that the film takes too long to wrap up after the climax. There are a few telling elements in this extended ending, but in a film as intense and emotionally involved as Mystic River you need the credits to roll within a few minutes of the high point.

Mystic River is a film about pain and the lasting effects of events in our lives. As hard as it is to watch people suffer, this is a film worth the price of admission. You won’t walk out of the theater cheering, but you’ll leave with a glimpse of life - hopefully different from your own - that may spur in you compassion for others and the unknown tragedies they may have endured.